Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop

It's Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop Time!  For this giveaway I will have two (2) winners, US/Canada only please because of shipping costs.  And what is up for grabs, each winner will get their choice of one of the following books which are books I have finished in the past and are just sitting around waiting for a new home or are books that I should finish by the end of the hop (please note, some are ARCs).  So have a look, enter below and then make sure you check out all the other great giveaways too!

 

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Author Interview: Lisa Burstein (Dear Cassie)

  
Today I welcome Lisa Burstein, author of Dear Cassie, which I'm currently reading and enjoying.  I hope to post my review later today or tomorrow, but I can tell you this book sucks you right in. I need to know Cassie, what happened, and what will happen.  I am intrigued.  Want to know more?  Grab your favorite cuppa and sit and learn a little more about Lisa and Dear Cassie and then get your own copy of this great book.  

What's the first sentence of Dear Cassie?

 

"Are you there Smokey Bear? It's me Cassie."

 

Tell us what is Dear Cassie about. 

Dear Cassie is about finding love in the unlikeliest place. Cassie is sent to a wilderness rehab program and forced to journal about her experience. Her "journal" is the book. She is so hurt and angry from a relationship in her past that she can't open up to anyone, until she meets one of the male campers, Ben. Slowly, over the course of their time at camp, Ben teaches Cassie she can trust and love someone again.

 

Who’s your favorite character in Dear Cassie? 

Cassie, she is snarky and sharp and funny, but also so vulnerable underneath.

 

Since Dear Cassie continues from events in Pretty Amy, do you think it’s harder to write series than it is to write a single title? 

No, but that could be because it isn't *really* a series, it's a companion novel, so it's from a completely different character's POV and a completely different story- that pulls from the world of the first novel. It came fairly easy to me, but I think that's because Cassie is such a strong character.

 

How did you come up with the idea of a Wilderness Camp for the setting of Dear Cassie? How much research did you do? 

I had some issues as a teen and was sent to rehab--not a wilderness camp the indoor kind-- but I knew for Cassie she needed to be somewhere like that. She plays really tough and a tough environment puts her to the test. I drew on both my experiences at summer camp and in rehab and also did some research online on teen boot camps and wilderness survival programs. They are actually quite common for troubled teens.

We actually have one in our area, or we did, I was surprised to learn a few years ago and it really did the kids some good, or at least most of the kids.  I knew one that went through it and he came out different.  I can't imagine going to one, I think it would scare me to the straight and narrow if I was threatened with one, but then again I was never a trouble-maker, so I'm not one that understands that mindset.  But I do see the need for them.  I hate ours lost funding.

 

What can we expect next from you?

I have a few things in proposal with my publisher right now, including a novel about LILA's story. I hope to be able to make some announcements next month.

Can't wait for that, and I'll remember it's just a companion story :)

 

Thanks Lisa!

About the book:

What if the last place you should fall in love is the first place that you do?

You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.

You’d be wrong.

There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.

What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?

But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.


And yet I can’t help but wonder…what if?

About the Author:
Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Fiction from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University and is glad to finally have it be worth more than the paper it was printed on. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats. Pretty Amy is her first novel. She never went to her senior prom.

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Author Interview: Paige Cuccaro (From Here to Eternity)

  
Today I welcome Paige Cuccaro, author of From Here to Eternity, which I reviewed yesterday. Today is a continuation of her tour stop so if you missed the review, make sure you check it out and enter the tour giveaway!  So grab your favorite cuppa and sit and learn a little more about Paige. 



What three things do you need in order to write?

1. My mini laptop—it’s strictly dedicated to writing. Helps keep me from be distracted by the
internet and email.
2. My Ipod—I have music loaded on it, but I also have white noise (sounds of traffic,
sounds of a forest, sounds of a crackling fire). White noise way less distracting than
music and I’m far less likely to start singing along.
3. My noise canceling headphones—combined with the white noise tracks on my Ipod I can
totally shut out the real world and immerse myself in my story.

What's your favorite season?

Summer! Spring is okay, I enjoy the flowers and the warming weather. Fall isn’t too bad,
especially early fall, when the weather is just a little cooler and the leaves are changing. But I go
stir crazy in the winter. The cold totally shuts me down. I’m definitely a summertime girl.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

Italy. Sorrento, Italy to be exact. I’ve been there with my husband and it’s amazing!

What's the first sentence of From Here to Eternity?

“I’m dead,” I said to my husband’s voice mail.

Tell us what is From Here to Eternity about.

It’s about a woman who wakes up one day to realize, despite all outward evidence her life has
utterly changed. Against her most deepest held beliefs she’s become the one thing she never
wanted and there’s no going back It’s about a man who, faced with his worst fear come true, was forced to make a choice between respecting his wife’s wishes or protecting a discovery that, in the wrong hands, could be the most devastating weapon ever made.

It’s about that kind of once in a life time love that transcends the limitations of human life and
makes us redefine what makes us who we are.

Dish, who’s your favorite character?

In this story? I’d say Nate. I love his adorable nerdiness and the way he loves his wife.

How did you come up with the idea for Cybernetic Anthropoid Automatons? Do you have a science background?

No. Ha! The majority of my scientific knowledge comes from sci-fi movies, and books. Isaac
Asimov is my science-geek hero. I’ve always loved his take on robots, and their constant
struggle to become more human.

From Here to Eternity came out of my own fascination with society’s seemingly inevitable move
toward becoming more like robots. (Speaking in regards to medical advancements that trade
human limbs and organs, with robotic parts—as either replacements or aids.) Where would it
stop? What wouldn’t we trade out, or enhance in our bodies if it meant a longer, more fulfilling
life?
Cybernetic Anthropoid Automatons was simply a combination of applicable words to create the
acronym, CYANA.

Did From Here to Eternity go the way you thought it would when you started or did it take on a life of it’s own as you wrote?

Yes. From Here to Eternity is the story I set out to write. I’m a plotter, so for the most part, my
stories begin and end the way I expect. The middle can get a little muddled, but it normally
works out.

What can we expect next from you?

I have the second book in my Hellsbane series, Heaven and Hellsbane, scheduled for release in
August and the third book, Hellsbane Hereafter, releasing in the winter.

Thanks Paige!
 
Thanks for having me! These were fun questions!!

I’d love to hear what your readers think about robotic parts, and sustaining or improving life with
robotic technology. Where would you draw the line?

If we had the technology to transfer everything a person knows, all their memories, everything
that shaped them into the person they were—into a highly advanced robotic brain and
body…would they be a robot—or a new kind of human?

To follow the tour, click on the banner at the top of the post or go here.

About the book:

Love never dies…but apparently Rachel has.

Waking up one day to her obituary in the news and no recollection of the past few weeks, Rachel calls her husband, Nate, in a panic, at the research facility where he works. Nate is the inventor of CYANAs, Cybernetic Anthropoid Automatons, vessels that look exactly like humans and can store a person’s memories…and maybe even his or her soul.

When Nate arrives home, Rachel doesn’t recognize the man who claims to be her husband. Can Nate convince Rachel to fall in love with him all over again? Especially once she realizes what he’s done…and what it means for their future?




 

About the Author:

Wife, Mother, tax payer, writer.

I live in Ohio, with my husband, three daughters, three dogs, and three cats, in an ever shrinking house. When I'm not writing I'm doing the mom thing with a book in one hand and a notepad and pen in the other. Ideas come without warning and for me, the best way to stimulate my imagination is to enjoy the imagination of someone else.

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Tour Giveaway:

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